"Li! Li! Li!" echoed in Belgium... Lee Han-beom's outstanding performance from his Club Brugge debut, earning 'MOTM + Top Rating' "It already feels like home"

*This content was translated by AI.

National team defender Lee Han-beom (24), who played as a starting defender in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, was named Match of the Match (MOTM) in his debut match for his club Club Brugge (Belgium).

On the 8th (Korea time), Lee Han-beom started at center back and played the full 90 minutes in the home match against Kortrijk in Round 1 of the 2026-2027 Belgian Pro League held at Jan Breydel Stadium in Brugge, Belgium, leading his team to a 3-0 victory.

Lee Han-beom, who transferred from Midtjylland (Denmark) on a three-year contract for a club-record fee of 10.5 million euros (17.1 billion won) for a defender, took part in the match just five days after joining the team.

In the first half's fifth minute, he prevented a critical scoring opportunity by making a diving tackle with full concentration to block a shot by opposing forward Godwin Koalifu aimed at the empty goal. Later, in the 23rd minute of the second half, he advanced aggressively, intercepted the ball, and set up Carlos Forbs for the decisive goal.

Football statistics media 'FootMob' and 'SofaScore' each awarded Lee Han-beom the highest match rating of 8.6 and 8.9, respectively. On this day, Lee recorded 146 ball touches, a 95% pass success rate (122/128), 13 successful defensive actions, 8 clearances, and 6 header clearances, posting the highest figures on the team.

Home fans cheered by chanting "Li! Li! Li!" for Lee Han-beom. Coach Ivan Leko praised him, saying, "There could not have been a better debut," while team captain Hans Vanaken also noted, "The ability to handle the ball calmly was immediately shown and is a great asset for the team."

Lee Han-beom said, "It already feels like home because the fans are calling my name." He added, "My strengths are aerial duels, headers, and close-control skills, and I was able to perform even better thanks to advice from center-back partner Brandon Mechele." He further vowed, "I will raise my performance level to prepare for stronger opponents in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and other competitions."

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*This content was translated by AI.